[Silthara Palace — Central Courtyard — Continuation]
Silence.
A horrifying and oppressive silence. The last traces of black mist drifted across the moonlit sky before disappearing into the darkness beyond the palace walls.
No one moved and no one breathed. Thousands of Imperial Knights remained frozen upon the palace grounds; every pair of eyes remained fixed upon the empty ground now.
The words of the Black Serpent Emperor still echoed inside their minds.
"The war...has finally begun."
The silence lasted only a heartbeat and then—
"Lady Arinaya!"
Raevahan's roar shattered the stillness; the enormous grey serpent immediately closed distance between them.
Only then did everyone truly see her condition. Lady Arinaya's crimson serpent form trembled violently, blood poured endlessly from dozens of shattered scales, and her breathing had become frighteningly shallow, and every serpent slowly returned to their human form.
